WO2013000568A1

WO2013000568A1 - Method of obtaining a binder to prepro-vasopressin or fragments thereof

Info

Publication number: WO2013000568A1
Application number: PCT/EP2012/002697
Authority: WO
Inventors: Joachim Struck
Original assignee: B.R.A.H.M.S. Gmbh
Priority date: 2011-06-30
Filing date: 2012-06-26
Publication date: 2013-01-03
Also published as: RU2014102721A; ZA201308165B; JP6088501B2; RU2607588C2; CN103635806B; BR112013032482A2; EP2726882A1; JP2014520768A; EP2541252A1; US20140335628A1; US10954298B2; US20180252732A1; CN103635806A

Abstract

Method of obtaining and/or verifying a binder to prepro-Vasopressin (SEQ ID NO. 1 ) or fragments thereof of at least 6 amino acids in length, including Copeptin (SEQ ID NO. 2), comprising at least one of the steps of: a) generating the binder using a developer comprising an amino acid sequence of at least 6 amino acids in length contained in an amino acid sequence corresponding to the C-terminal part but lacking amino acid 164 of prepro-Vasopressin (SEQ ID NO. 1); b) determining whether the binder is capable of binding to an amino acid sequence of at least 4 amino acids in length contained in an amino acid sequence corresponding to the C-terminal part but lacking amino acid 164 of prepro-Vasopressin (SEQ ID NO. 1); c) selecting and optionally isolating the binder from a plurality of binders which is capable of binding to an amino acid sequence contained in an amino acid sequence corresponding to the C-terminal part but lacking amino acid 164 of prepro-Vasopressin (SEQ ID NO. 1); d) carrying out binding assays with the binder in order to determine the ex vivo stability of prepro-Vasopressin or fragments thereof of at least 6 amino acids in length, including Copeptin, in a biological sample; e) carrying out binding assays with the binder and another binder for comparison purposes in order to determine the concentration of prepro-Vasopressin or fragments thereof of at least 6 amino acids in length, including Copeptin, in a biological sample; wherein the C-terminal part consists of amino acids 138 to 164 of prepro-Vasopressin (SEQ ID NO. 1 ), in order to obtain a binder or a mixture of binders capable of binding to an epitope contained in an amino acid sequence corresponding to amino acids 1 38 to 163 but lacking amino acid 164 of prepro-Vasopressin (SEQ ID NO. 1).

Description

METHOD OF OBTAININC A BINDER TO PREPRO- VASOPRESSIN OR FRAGMENTS THEREOF

[0001 ] The present invention relates to a method of obtaining and/or verifying a binder to prepro- Vasopressin or fragments thereof, including Copeptin, a binder and a kit comprising the binder for qualitatively or quantitatively detecting prepro- Vasopressin or fragments thereof, including Copeptin, in a biological sample, and a peptide for generating a binder to prepro-Vasopressin or fragments thereof, including Copeptin.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Prepro-Vasopressin can be processed to Pro-Vasopressin by cleavage of the signal peptide, which can be further processed into Vasopressin, Neurophysin-2 and Copeptin, the latter representing the C-terminal moiety of the precursor peptide. Vasopressin, also known as antidiuretic hormone (ADH), is a key regulator of water and electrolyte balance. The measurement of Vasopressin in biological samples is barely possible in clinical routine due to considerable technical challenges related to its rapid clearance from the circulation, interaction with platelets in the serum, and small size, see "Literature", paragraph [0039], [1 -3]. Copeptin, which is stoichiometrically formed together with Vasopressin, has been successfully established as a surrogate marker for Vasopressin. A major reason for this success is considered its extremely high ex vivo stability, making it suitable for routine use [4-6].

Clinical research has revealed numerous indications, where measurement of Copeptin gives highly useful diagnostic information, including cardiological, pulmonological, infectious, kidney diseases, pathological disturbances of the water and electrolyte balance, and others [5]. Published methods for the detection of Copeptin are immunoassays [4, 6]. Prepro-Vasopressin and fragments thereof can be expressed also ectopically in certain types of cancer, and anti-Copeptin antibodies can be used to detect expression in tissue samples (EP 1539818 A2).

[0003] While immunogens for the generation of anti-Copeptin antibodies have been described, little, if any, is known about the actual epitopes of these antibodies. Described anti-human Co- peptin antibodies are listed in table 1 . In the prior art, no attention has been paid to the question on whether and how the epitope specificity of anti-Copeptin antibodies might affect the accuracy and robustness of the detection of pre pro- Vasopressin or fragments thereof including Copeptin in biological samples, using such antibodies. It is rather generally believed that Copeptin is very stable per se. An antibody for detection of mature Copeptin, the epitope of which is rather unspeci- fically defined as having been mapped "near the C-terminus of Copeptin", is offered by Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Inc., Heidelberg, Germany, and recommended for use in ELISA and other applications.

TABLE 1

Antibody Origin Immunogen Epitope Reference

Anti- Sheep CATQLDGPAGALLLRLV Not described [6]

PATV1 7 representing positions 132-1 7 of pre- pro- Vasopressin plus an N-terminal cys- tein residue

Anti- Sheep CLACAPEPFEPAQPDAY Not described [6]

PLAY1 7 representing positions 149-164 of pre- pro-Vasopressin plus an N-terminal cys- tein residue

294/1 A7 Mouse ATQLDGPAGALLLRLVQLAGAPEP- GPAGAL WO 20100491 79

FEPAQPDAY representing A1

representing positions 132-164 of pre- positions 1 37-144 pro- Vasopressin plus an N-terminal cys- of pre- pro- Vasotein residue pressin

H-065-32 Rabbit ASDRSNATQLDCPAGALLLRLVQLA- Not described Phoenix Pharma¬

GAPEPFEPAQPDAY ceuticals, representing positions 126 - 164 of pre- Burlingame, USA pro-Vasopressin

MAB6077 Mouse ASDRSNATQLDGPAG Not described R+ D Systems,

(clone representing positions 126-140 of pre- Minneapolis, USA

579021 ) pro-Vasopressin

MAC-1 Mouse QLAGAPEPFEPAQPDAY Not described EP 1539818 A2 representing positions 148-164 of pre- pro-Vasopressin

sc-781 1 Coat Not described "epitope mapping Santa Cruz Bionear the C-termintechnology, Inc., us of Copeptin of Heidelberg, Gerhuman origin" many DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0004] The present invention relates to a method as claimed in claim 1 , a peptide as claimed in claim 10 and the use thereof as claimed in claim 11 , a binder as claimed in claim 12, the use of said binder as claimed in claim 14, and a kit as claimed in claim 18. Preferred embodiments are described in the respective dependent claims.

[0005] In detail, in a first aspect, the invention concerns a method of obtaining and/or verifying a binder to prepro- Vasopressin (SEQ ID NO. 1 ) or fragments thereof of at least 6 amino acids in length, including Copeptin (SEQ ID NO. 2), comprising at least one of the steps of:

a) generating the binder using a developer comprising an amino acid sequence of at least 6 amino acids in length contained in an amino acid sequence corresponding to the C-terminal part but lacking amino acid 1 64 of prepro-Vasopressin (SEQ ID NO. 1 );

b) determining whether the binder is capable of binding to an amino acid sequence of at least 4 amino acids in length contained in an amino acid sequence corresponding to the C-terminal part but lacking amino acid 1 64 of prepro-Vasopressin (SEQ ID NO. 1 );

c) selecting and optionally isolating the binder from a plurality of binders which is capable of binding to an amino acid sequence contained in an amino acid sequence corresponding to the C-terminal part but lacking amino acid 164 of prepro-Vasopressin (SEQ ID NO. 1 );

d) carrying out binding assays with the binder in order to determine the ex vivo stability of prepro-Vasopressin or fragments thereof of at least 6 amino acids in length, including Copeptin, in a biological sample;

e) carrying out binding assays with the binder and another binder for comparison purposes in order to determine the concentration of prepro-Vasopressin or fragments thereof of at least 6 amino acids in length, including Copeptin, in a biological sample;

wherein the C-terminal part consists of amino acids 1 38 to 164 of prepro-Vasopressin (SEQ ID NO. 1 ),

in order to obtain a binder or a mixture of binders capable of binding to an epitope contained in an amino acid sequence corresponding to amino acids 138 to 163 but lacking amino acid 164 of prepro-Vasopressin (SEQ ID NO. 1 ).

[0006] The main aspect of the present invention is the surprising finding that fragments of prepro- Vasopressin and especially Copeptin in biological samples are not extremely stable per se, as the prior art suggests, but that analyte stability and the accurate and reliable detection depend on the epitope against which antibodies used in an assay to detect the fragments, such as Copeptin, are directed. In particular, it was found that the exclusion of amino acid position 164 in the C- terminal portion of prepro-Vasopressin as part of the epitope for a binder to prepro-Vasopressin or fragments thereof, such as Copeptin, is highly critical concerning both, accurate detection and analyte stability. Accordingly, the method comprises steps making sure to find those binders which do not require the presence of amino acid 164 in the epitope of an amino acid sequence corresponding to the C-terminal part of prepro-Vasopressin (SEQ ID NO. 1 ), i.e., the amino acid sequence starting with and downstream of amino acid 1 38. As was found and confirmed in the present invention, binders not requiring amino acid 164 in the epitope for binding lead to more accurate and reliable analytical results and are thus more suited to be used in assays for detecting prepro-Vasopressin or fragments thereof than the binders needing said amino acid 164 for binding.

[0007] It could further be shown that not only amino acid 164 may be lacking from the C- terminal portion of prepro-Vasopressin as part of the epitope for a binder to prepro-Vasopressin or fragments thereof but that improved results may also be obtained when more than the one amino acid is missing. In more detail, amino acids 1 63 and 164, preferably 162-164 and most preferably amino acids 161 -1 64 may be lacking from the amino acid sequence corresponding to the C-terminal part of prepro-Vasopressin (SEQ ID NO. 1 ). That is, the binder obtainable by the method of the invention does not require the presence of these amino acids in the epitope for binding to prepro-Vasopressin or fragments thereof, including Copeptin (SEQ ID NO. 2).

[0008] The terms "prepro-Vasopressin" and "Copeptin" as used herein comprise also amino acid sequences showing e.g. only 75 % homology, preferred at least 80 % homology, more preferred at least 90 % homology to prepro-Vasopressin and Copeptin, respectively. The same applies to other fragments of prepro-Vasopressin than Copeptin. "Fragments" of prepro-Vasopressin relate to fragments of at least 6 amino acids in length, preferably at least 8, especially preferably at least 10 and most preferably at least 12 amino acid residues in length.

[0009] The method of the invention describes several ways of obtaining and/or verifying suitable binders not needing amino acid 164 for binding, as described above, which may be employed solely or in combination with each other. A first possibility is given in step a) and concerns the purposeful and selective generation of the binder by using a suitable developer selectively leading to the desired binder. Concretely, the developer comprises an amino acid sequence contained in an amino acid sequence corresponding to the C-terminal part but lacking amino acid 164 of prepro-Vasopressin (SEQ ID NO. 1 ). That is, the developer comprises an amino acid sequence of at least 6 amino acids in length which corresponds to at least a part of the amino acid sequence from amino acids 1 38 to 164 of prepro-Vasopressin but does not have amino acid 164. Using a developer wherein amino acid 164 is missing in the amino acid sequence leads to a binder or a mixture of binders not requiring said amino acid 164 for binding. (In the following, the term "binder" shall mean both a single type of binder or a mixture of different types of binders, unless otherwise stated.) Principally, step a) thus selectively and directly leads to the desired binder and does not require additional steps in order to remove binders needing said amino acid 164 for binding. However, this does not exclude that, after step a), additional steps, such as characterization, purification, selection and isolation steps, may follow.

[0010] In the context of this invention, the amino acid sequence contained in an amino acid sequence corresponding to the C-terminal part but lacking amino acid 164 of prepro-Vasopressin (SEQ ID NO. 1 ) used for generating the binder can principally be a synthetically prepared or naturally derived amino acid sequence. It may be linear or folded. The said amino acid sequence may principally be of any length of 6 or more amino acids suitable for generating the desired binder or for obtaining efficient binding to the binder. It may principally correspond to any amino acid sequence between amino acids 1 38 and 163 of prepro-Vasopressin. Preferably, the amino acid sequence is contained in the sequence of amino acids 140 to 163, more preferably 142 to 163, especially preferably 144 to 163 and most preferably 146 to 163 of prepro-Vasopressin (SEQ ID NO. 1 ). Suitably, the amino acid sequence has at least 8, preferably at least 10 and most preferably at least 12 amino acids. Particularly, said amino acid sequence contains at least 6, preferably at least 8, more preferably at least 1 0 and most preferably at least 1 2 consecutive amino acids contained in the amino acid sequence corresponding to amino acids 146 to 163 of prepro- Vasopressin (SEQ ID NO. 1 ).

[0011 ] As used herein, the term "binder" refers to any substance capable of binding to an epitope contained in an amino acid sequence corresponding to the C-terminal part of prepro-Vasopressin (SEQ ID NO. 1 ). This binder is generally shaped adequately, both spatially and in terms of surface features, such as surface charge, hydrophobicity, hydrophilicity, presence or absence of Lewis donors and/or acceptors, to specifically bind the target molecules or molecules of interest, i. e., prepro-Vasopressin or fragments thereof, including Copeptin. Hereby, the binding may for instance be mediated by ionic, van-der-Waals, pi-pi, sigma-pi, hydrophobic or hydrogen bond interactions or a combination of two or more of the aforementioned interactions between the binder and the target molecules or molecules of interest. Such binders may be selected from but are not limited to the group consisting of antibodies and aptamers. [0012] Preferably, the binder is an antibody, preferably a monoclonal antibody, polyclonal antiserum, enriched or purified polyclonal antibody, recombinant antibody, or a functional derivative thereof. The term "antibody" as used herein, unless indicated otherwise, is used broadly to refer to both, antibody molecules and a variety of antibody-derived molecules. Such antibody- derived molecules comprise at least one variable region (either a heavy chain or a light chain variable region), as well as individual antibody light chains, individual antibody heavy chains, chimeric fusions between antibody chains and other molecules, and the like. Functional immunoglobulin fragments according to the present invention may be Fv, scFv, disulfide-linked Fv, Fab, and F(ab')2. Also encompassed by the term "antibody" are polyclonal antibodies, monoclonal antibodies, preferably lgC1 antibodies; chimeric monoclonal antibodies; humanized antibodies, genetically engineered monoclonal antibodies. Functional derivatives are chemically and/or biochemically modified variants of the antibodies/antisera having an analogous functionality/binding capacity. Analogously, the developer may be any substance suited for generating a binder of the invention. Preferably, the developer is an immunogen, most preferably a - natural or synthetic - peptide, comprising an amino acid sequence of at least 6 amino acids in length contained in the amino acid sequence corresponding to the C-terminal part of prepro- Vasopressin (SEQ ID NO. 1 ).

[0013] The term "developer" as used herein refers to a binding-site related substance for the generation of a binder, e.g. an amino acid sequence. The developer may consist of the amino acid sequence as described above or may contain this amino acid sequence as the functional part of the compound. For example, the developer may additionally comprise a linking part, such as another amino acid sequence. Preferably, the developer is selected from the group comprising the peptides consisting of amino acids 146-163 (SEQ ID NO. 7), 146-162 (SEQ ID NO. 8), 146-161 (SEQ ID NO. 9), 146-160 (SEQ ID NO. 10), 146-1 59 (SEQ ID NO. 1 1 ), 146-1 58 (SEQ ID NO. 12) and 146-1 57 (SEQ ID NO. 1 3) of prepro-Vasopressin (SEQ ID NO. 1 ). These peptides and their use in the method of the invention are also part of the present invention. The methods of raising binders, particularly antibodies, using peptides are generally known in the art as thus need not be described here.

[0014] In step b) of the instant invention it is determined whether the binder is capable of binding to an amino acid sequence contained in an amino acid sequence corresponding to the C- terminal part but lacking amino acid 164 of prepro-Vasopressin (SEQ ID NO. 1 ). Here, and also in step c), the amino acid sequences and the C-terminal part are defined as in step a) above, with the exception that a length of at least 4 amino acids in the amino acid sequence is regarded as sufficient for determining binding. Preferably, the amino acid sequence has at least 6, more pref- erably at least 8, even more preferably at least 10 and most preferably at least 1 2 consecutive amino acids contained in the amino acid sequence corresponding to amino acids 146 to 163 of prepro-Vasopressin (SEQ ID NO. 1 ), and preferably is an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of amino acids 146-163 (SEQ ID NO. 7), 146-162 (SEQ ID NO. 8), 146-161 (SEQ ID NO. 9), 146-160 (SEQ ID NO. 10), 146-159 (SEQ ID NO. 1 1 ), 146-1 58 (SEQ ID NO. 12) and 146-1 57 (SEQ ID NO. 1 3) of prepro-Vasopressin (SEQ ID NO. 1 ).

Step b) may, for example, be used in addition to step a) in order to verify the suitability of the binder obtained in the generating step. However, more preferably, step b) may be used in order to find out whether a binder, which has not been prepared using a selective developer as in step a) and where it is not clear whether it will need said amino acid 164 in the epitope for binding, is actually capable of binding to an amino acid sequence of at least 4 amino acids in length contained in an amino acid sequence corresponding to the C-terminal part but lacking amino acid 164 of prepro-Vasopressin (SEQ ID NO. 1 ). This also applies to mixtures of binders where it may be necessary to find out whether it contains binders which require amino acid 164 in the epitope for effective binding. If this is confirmed these undesired binders may then be removed in a later step.

[0015] Step b) can be carried out using any suitable determining method known to the expert. A preferred way of determining whether the binder is capable of binding to an amino acid sequence of at least 4 amino acids in length corresponding to the amino acid sequence of the C-terminal part of prepro-Vasopressin is epitope mapping. Epitope mapping is a process known to a person skilled in the art. Epitope mapping is the process of identifying the binding sites, or "epitopes", of binders on their target antigens. There are two types of general structures that binders use to bind antigens: linear and conformational. Linear epitopes are formed by a continuous sequence of amino acids in a protein, while conformational epitopes are composed of amino acids that are discontinuous in the protein sequence but are brought together upon three-dimensional protein folding. There are several methods available for mapping binding epitopes on target antigens. The gold standard approach is X-ray co-crystallography, which allows direct visualization of the interaction between the antigen and the binder. However, this approach is technically challenging, requires large amounts of purified protein, and can be time-consuming and expensive. An alternative approach for epitope mapping is peptide scanning. This technique uses a library of short peptide sequences from overlapping segments of a target protein and tests for their ability to bind the antibody of interest. This method is faster and relatively inexpensive, but is primarily used for mapping linear, not conformational, epitopes. In order to test whether the binder is capable of binding to the respective amino acid sequence, the amino acid sequence can be bound directly or indirectly to a solid phase. For indirect binding the amino acid sequence may contain this amino acid sequence as the functional part of the compound. For example, the amino acid sequence may additionally comprise a linking part, such as biotin. Biotinylated amino acid sequences can be immobilized via streptavidin, avidin, neutravidin or captavidin that is bound directly on the solid phase. As biotin binds with an extremely high affinity and specificity to streptavidin, avidin, neutravidin or captavidin, the amino acid sequence that has to be tested for binding of the respective binder is consequently indirectly bound to the solid phase via a bio- tin/streptavidin-complex. Another approach for epitope mapping is site-directed mutagenesis. Using this approach, systematic mutations of amino acids are introduced into a protein sequence followed by measurement of specific binding of the binder in order to identify amino acids that comprise an epitope. This technique has the advantage of mapping both linear and conformational epitopes, but is labor-intensive and slow, typically limiting analysis to a small number of amino acid residues. All these methods can be used in step b) of the invention. Preferably, however, in this process, binding of the binder against variants of the binding region is assessed. Such variants may be truncated, mutated, extended or otherwise modified representations of the binding region, which are typically produced by chemical synthesis or as recombinant pep- tides/proteins by molecular biological methods. It has to be noted that the interpretation of experimental epitope mapping data may be strongly influenced by the experimental conditions applied, such as for instance the amount of binding targets offered, concentrations of binder applied, applied detection method, applied incubation conditions etc. This is however known to the expert and can thus be taken into account.

[0016] If it has turned out - for example, in the determining step b) described above - that a mixture of binders was obtained, or if it is clear that the preparation method leads to a mixture of binders, and the mixture contains undesired binders which require amino acid 164 in the epitope for effective binding, these undesired binders should be removed or at least depleted. For this purpose, the method of the invention comprises step c) in which the desired binder not requiring amino acid 164 of prepro- Vasopressin in the epitope for binding and thus leading to improved analytical results is selected so that it may be separated from the undesired binder. This selecting step may be any process suited to selectively get hold of the desired binder in order to enrich it compared with the undesired binder. A preferred way to do so is affinity separation. This method uses the different binding properties of the molecules to be separated. The most common process is affinity chromatography wherein a ligand specific for the binding site of the target molecule is coupled to an inert chromatography matrix. Under binding conditions this specific ligand on the chromatography matrix will bind molecules according to its specificity only. All other sample components will pass unbound through the chromatography medium. After a wash step the bound molecules may then be released and eluted by changing the conditions towards dissociation or by adding an excess of a substance that displaces the target molecule from the affinity li- gand (competitive elution). The binder can thus be isolated in purified form. The invention is, however, not restricted to the above selection, purification and isolating steps, but any other suitable methods can also be employed.

[0017] Finding out whether a binder requires amino acid 164 of prepro-Vasopressin in the epitope for binding may also be accomplished by carrying out binding assays, according to steps d) and e) of the invention. Both steps indirectly characterize the epitope specificity of the binder and are thus steps verifying the suitability of the binder.

As mentioned herein, an "assay" can be of any type applied in the field of diagnostics. Such an assay may be based on the binding of an analyte to be detected to one or more capture probes with a certain affinity. Concerning the interaction between capture molecules and target molecules or molecules of interest, the affinity constant is preferably greater than 10⁸ M^"1. "Capture molecules" are molecules which may be used to bind target molecules or molecules of interest. The capture molecules must thus be shaped adequately, both spatially and in terms of surface features, such as surface charge, hydrophobicity, hydrophilicity, presence or absence of Lewis donors and/or acceptors, to specifically bind the target molecules or molecules of interest. As mentioned before, the binding may for instance be mediated by ionic, van-der-Waals, pi-pi, sigma-pi, hydrophobic or hydrogen bond interactions or a combination of two or more of the aforementioned interactions between the capture molecules and the target molecules or molecules of interest.

[0018] The assays can have various formats, such as for instance radioimmunoassay (RIA), chemiluminescence- and fluorescence- immunoassays, Enzyme-linked immunoassays (ELISA), Luminex-based bead arrays, protein microarray assays, and rapid test formats such as for instance immunochromatographic strip tests.

The assays can be homogenous or heterogeneous assays, competitive and non-competitive assays. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the assay is in the form of a sandwich assay, which is a non-competitive immunoassay, wherein the molecule to be detected and/or quantified is bound to a first antibody and to a second antibody. The first antibody may be bound to a solid phase, e.g. a bead, a surface of a well or other container, a chip or a strip, and the second antibody is an antibody which is labeled, e.g. with a dye, with a radioisotope, or a reactive or catalytically active moiety. The amount of labeled antibody bound to the analyte is then measured by an appropriate method. The general composition and procedures involved with "sandwich assays" are well- established and known to the skilled person (The Immunoassay Handbook, Ed. David Wild, Elsevier LTD, Oxford; 3rd ed. (May 2005), ISBN-1 3: 978-0080445267; Hultschig C et al., Curr Opin Chem Biol. 2006 Feb;10(1 ):4-10. PMID: 163761 34, incorporated herein by reference). In a particularly preferred embodiment the assay comprises two capture molecules, preferably antibodies which are both present as dispersions in a liquid reaction mixture, wherein a first labeling component is attached to the first capture molecule, wherein said first labeling component is part of a labeling system based on fluorescence- or chemiluminescence-quenching or amplification, and a second labeling component of said marking system is attached to the second capture molecule, so that upon binding of both capture molecules to the analyte a measurable signal is generated that allows for the detection of the formed sandwich complexes in the solution comprising the sample.

Even more preferred, said labeling system comprises rare earth cryptates or rare earth chelates in combination with fluorescence dye or chemiluminescence dye, in particular a dye of the cyanine type.

[0019] In step d), a binding assay is carried out with the binder in order to determine the ex vivo stability of prepro-Vasopressin or fragments thereof, including Copeptin, in a biological sample. As has been shown in the present invention, the analyte stability is higher when a binder is used not requiring amino acid 164 of prepro-Vasopressin or its fragment for binding compared to those binders needing said amino acid 164 for binding. Consequently, the analyte stability can be used to make conclusions regarding the type of binder. Those analytes having the highest stability are those not requiring amino acid 164 for binding and are thus the binders preferred in the present invention. Binders already known not to require amino acid 164 for binding can be used for comparison purposes, i.e., the analyte stability related to these comparison binders can be used as a standard with which the analyte stability evaluated for new binders is compared.

[0020] Step e), which may be used as an alternative or additional to step d), also uses another binder for comparison purposes, and binding assays are carried out with this binder for comparison purposes and the new binder in order to determine the concentration of prepro-Vasopressin or fragments thereof, including Copeptin, in a biological sample. The binder for comparison purposes suitably is a binder already known to not require said amino acid 164 of prepro-Vasopressin for binding to the said epitope. A new binder also not needing said amino acid 164 of prepro- Vasopressin in the epitope for binding is expected to give results with similar or higher concentrations of prepro-Vasopressin or fragments thereof, including Copeptin, in a biological sample as the binder for comparison purposes, while binders requiring said amino acid 164 are expected to result in lower concentrations.

[0021 ] As already mentioned above, the method of the invention may be comprised of only one of steps a) to e). For example, it may consist solely of step a), step b), step c), step d) or step e). The method, however, also encompasses combinations of two or more of steps a) to e) in any suitable order. For example, a preparation step suspected to having resulted in a mixture containing both desired and undesired binders may be followed by an analyzing step, such as step b), d) or e), which may then optionally be followed by selecting the desired binders in accordance with step c) and then, if so desired, by an isolating step resulting in the enriched desired binder (which, as mentioned above, may also be a mixture of desired binders).

[0022] With the method of the invention, employing at least one of the method steps a) to e), it is possible to obtain those binders capable of efficiently binding to an epitope contained in an amino acid sequence corresponding to amino acids 1 38 to 163 but lacking amino acid 164 of prepro-Vasopressin (SEQ ID NO. 1 ), which, as the invention has surprisingly shown, are those binders which do not require the presence of amino acid 164 in the epitope of an amino acid sequence corresponding to the C-terminal part of prepro-Vasopressin for effective binding. As a result, more reliable analytical results can be obtained when using the binder, which is obtainable by the method of the invention, or a kit comprising said binder for qualitatively or quantitatively detecting prepro-Vasopressin or fragments thereof, including Copeptin, in a biological sample.

[0023] The biological sample may be any kind of bodily fluid and is preferably selected from the group comprising blood, serum, plasma, urine, cerebrospinal fluid and saliva. Preferably, the sample is a blood sample, most preferably a serum sample or a plasma sample. Where appropriate, the sample may need to be homogenized, or extracted with a solvent prior to use in the present invention in order to obtain a liquid sample. A liquid sample hereby may be a solution or suspen- sion. Liquid samples may be subjected to one or more pre-treatments prior to use in the present invention. Such pre-treatments include, but are not limited to dilution, filtration, centrifugation, concentration, sedimentation, precipitation, dialysis. Pre-treatments may also include the addition of chemical or biochemical substances to the solution, such as acids, bases, buffers, salts, solvents, reactive dyes, detergents, emulsifiers, chelators.

"Plasma" in the context of the present invention is the virtually cell-free supernatant of blood containing anticoagulant obtained after centrifugation. Exemplary anticoagulants include calcium ion binding compounds such as EDTA or citrate and thrombin inhibitors such as heparinates or hirudin. Cell-free plasma can be obtained by centrifugation of the anticoagulated blood (e. g. citrated, EDTA or heparinized blood) for at least 1 5 minutes at 2000 to 3000 g. Therefore, it is preferred that plasma samples employed in the context of the present invention have been subjected to centrifugation at more than 1500 g for 30 min, preferably at least at 2000 g for at least 30 min, more preferably at least at 3000 g for at least 20 min, most preferably at least at 3000 g for at least 30 min.

"Serum" in the context of the present invention is the undiluted, extracellular portion of blood after adequate coagulation is completed. Coagulation is usually completed after 30 min. Serum can be obtained by centrifugation of the coagulated sample for at least 10 minutes at a minimum speed of 1 500 g. Therefore, it is preferred that serum samples employed in the context of the present invention have been subjected to centrifugation at least at 1 500 g for at least 10 min, preferably for at least 1 5 min, more preferably for at least 20 min. Most preferably the serum sample has been subjected to a centrifugation at least at 3000 g for at least 20 min.

[0024] The reliability of the results in determining prepro-Vasopressin or fragments thereof may be even more improved by using at least one other binder in addition to the binder of the invention. This other binder suitably binds to another epitope of prepro-Vasopressin or its fragments than the binder of the invention. The epitope used by the other binder for binding preferably is an epitope fully or partially contained in an amino acid sequence corresponding to amino acids 126 to 164 of prepro-Vasopressin (SEQ. ID NO. 1 ). Especially preferably, the epitope is fully or partially contained in an amino acid sequence corresponding to amino acids 1 26 to 146 and most preferably in amino acids 1 26 to 137 of prepro-Vasopressin. "Partially contained" in this context means that only a part of the epitope lies within the amino acid sequence corresponding to amino acids 126 to 164 of prepro-Vasopressin while the other part lies upstream, towards the N- terminal, of the amino acid sequence. That is, part of the epitope overlaps with said amino acid sequence of prepro-Vasopressin while the rest of the epitope lies upstream thereof. The overlap preferably is at least 6 amino acids. The additional binder refers to any substance capable of binding to an epitope fully or partially contained in an amino acid sequence corresponding to amino acids 126 to 164 of prepro-Vasopressin (SEQ ID NO. 1 ). Preferably, the additional binder is an antibody, preferably a monoclonal antibody, polyclonal antiserum, enriched or purified polyclonal antibody, recombinant antibody, or a functional derivative thereof.

[0025] The invention will further be described with reference to the attached drawings and examples. The figures and examples relate to preferred embodiments of the invention but the invention is not restricted to these embodiments but comprises all other embodiments encompassed by the scope of the claims.

DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 Epitope mapping of anti-PLAY1 7 sheep antiserum (Fig. 1 (A)), affinity purified sheep polyclonal anti-PLAY1 7 antibody (Fig. 1 (B)), mAb 429/F4 (Fig. 1 (Q) and mAb 423/F10 (Fig. 1 (D)). Data are represented as binding obtained against the respective indicated peptide minus non-specific binding (that is binding obtained, when the antibody to be tested was omitted), relative to the binding obtained against the P146-164 peptide minus non-specific binding. Results are shown for different dilutions/amounts of the anti- sera/antibodies tested.

Fig. 2 Dose response curves for the assays Pc anti-PLAY1 7 / mc anti-PATV1 7 (Fig. 2 (A)), mAb 429/F4 / mc anti-PATV1 7 (Fig. 2 (B)), mAb 423/F10 / mc anti-PATV1 7 (Fi. 2 (Q).

Fig. 3 Correlation of serum samples measured with Pc anti-PLAY1 7 / mc anti-PATV1 7 and mAb 429/F4 / mc anti-PATV1 7 (Fig. 3 (A)), Pc anti-PLAY1 7 / mc anti-PATV1 7 and mAb 423/F10 / mc anti-PATV1 7 (Fig. 3 (B)), mAb 423/F10 / mc anti-PATV1 7 and mAb 429/F4 / mc anti-PATV1 7 (Fig. 3 (Q).

Fig. 4 Correlation of EDTA-plasma samples measured with Pc anti-PLAY1 7 / mc anti-PATV1 7 and mAb 429/F4 / mc anti-PATV1 7 (Fig. 4 (A)), Pc anti-PI_AY1 7 / mc anti-PATV1 7 and mAb 423/F10 / mc anti-PATV1 7 (Fig. 4 (B)), mAb 423/F10 / mc anti-PATV1 7 and mAb 429/F4 / mc anti-PATV1 7 (Fig. 4 (O).

Fig. 5 Analyte stability. Shown are mean values (SEM) of five serum samples after storage at 22 °C for the indicated time periods in the relation to the values measured without having the samples stored (t=0), when samples were measured with the assays indicated. EXAMPLES

Peptides

[0026] The following Copeptin-related peptides were chemically synthesized, purified, and quality controlled employing standard procedures:

Antibodies

[0027] Monoclonal antibodies directed against the peptides PAY16 and PAY14 were generated by standard procedures (Harlow E, Lane D. Antibodies - A Laboratory Manual. Cold Spring Harbor: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, 1988; Lane RD. A short-duration polyethylene glycol fusion technique for increasing production of monoclonal antibody-secreting hybridomas. J Immunol Methods 1985; 81 :223-8.):

Briefly, peptides were conjugated to BSA by using Sulfo-MBS (m-maleimidobenzoyl-N- hydroxysuccinimid ester). With these conjugates Balb/c mice were immunized and boostered, and spleen cells were fused with SP2/0 myeloma cells to generate hybridoma cell lines. Cell lines were screened for their ability to secrete antibodies that would bind to the immunogenic peptides, which were coated on a solid polystyrene phase.

With this approach, cell lines secreting monoclonal antibodies 429/F4 (against PAY16) and 423/F1 0 (against PAY14) were generated. For further experiments, monoclonal antibodies were purified from culture supernatant by Protein C affinity chromatography.

Sheep antiserum and corresponding affinity purified polyclonal sheep antibodies developed against peptide PLAY1 7 ("pc anti-PLAY"), used in chemiluminescence/coated tube assays to detect Copeptin (CT-proAVP) as described [4, 7] were from BRAHMS GmbH, Hennigsdorf, Germany. Epitope mapping

[0028] The epitopes of the antibodies were mapped as follows: a) Coating of peptides

[0029] Coating was done by standard procedures (EP 1488209 A1 , EP 1 7381 78 A1 ): Polystyrene startubes (Creiner) were coated with peptides Pi 46-164, P146-163, P146-162, P146-161 , P146- 1 59, PI 46-1 58 and ΡΊ 46-1 57 (per tube, 1 ,5 /jg of peptide in 300 μΐ of PBS, pH 7.8) overnight at 22 °C. Tubes were then blocked with 10 mmol/L Na-phosphate (pH 6.5) containing 3 % Karion FP (Merck), 0.5 % BSA protease free (Sigma) and lyophilized. b) Labeling of donkey-anti-sheep IgG and goat-anti-mouse IgG antibodies

[0030] Labeling was done by standard procedures (EP 1488209 A1 , EP 1 7381 78 A1 ): The concentration of the donkey-anti-sheep (Scantibodies Laboratory Inc., USA) and goat-anti-mouse antibody (BiosPacific, USA) was adjusted to 1 g/L, and the antibodies were labeled by incubation with the chemiluminescent label MACN-Acridinium-NHS-Ester (1 g/L; InVent GmbH, Hennigsdorf, Germany) in a 1 :4 molar ratio for 20 min at room temperature. The reactions were stopped by addition of 1/10 volume of 1 mol/L Tris for 10 min at room temperature. Labeled antibodies were separated from free label by size-exclusion chromatography on a NAP-5 column (GE Healthcare, Freiburg, Germany) and a Thermo BioBasic 300 5L/m HPLC column (Thermo Scientific). c) pc anti-PLAY1 7 antiserum / affinity purified antibody

[0031 ] Tracer was produced by diluting the labeled donkey-anti-sheep IgG antibody in assay buffer PBS, 0,5% bovine serum albumin protease free (Sigma) containing 106 relative light units (RLU) of MACN-labeled antibody per 200 μ\. Pc anti-PLAY1 7 sheep antiserum (B.R.A.H.M.S GmbH, Hennigsdorf, Germany) was diluted with PBS, 0,5 % bovine serum albumin (protease free) at a ratio of 1 :1000, 1 :3000, 1 :9000, 1 :27000 and 1 :81000. Affinity purified pc anti- PLAY1 sheep antibodies were diluted with PBS, 0,5 % bovine serum albumin protease free to following concentrations: 972, 324, 108, 36 and 12 ng 200 /L/l. In the first incubation step 50 ul of the dilutions of pc anti-PLAY1 7 sheep antiserum/purified antibodies and 200 μΙ PBS, 0,5 % bovine serum albumin (protease free) were pipetted in tubes, coated with peptides P146-164, P146-163, P146-162, P146-161 , P146-1 59, P146-158 and P146-1 57. For calculation of non-specific bind- ing (NSB) only 250 μΙ PBS with 0,5 % bovine serum albumin (protease free) were pipetted in tubes, coated with peptides P146-164, P146-1 63, P146-162, P146-161 , P146-159, P146-1 58 and PI 46-157. The tubes were incubated over night at 22 °C under agitation. Then, the tubes were washed 5 times with 1 mL of B.R.A.H.M.S washing solution (B.R.A.H.M.S GmbH). In the second incubation step 200 μΙ of donkey-anti-sheep IgG tracer were added and the tubes were incubated for 2 hours at 22 °C under agitation. Then, the tubes were washed 5 times with 1 mL of B.R.A.H.M.S washing solution and bound chemiluminescence was measured for 1 s per tube with an LB 952T luminometer (Berthold). d) mAb 429/F4 and mAb 423/F10

[0032] Tracer was produced by diluting the labeled antibody goat-anti-mouse IgG into assay buffer (PBS, 0,5 % protease free bovine serum albumin) containing 106 relative light units (RLU) of MACN-labeled antibody per 200 μΙ. Monoclonal antibodies 429/F4 and 423/F10 were diluted with PBS, 0,5 % bovine serum albumin (protease free) to the following concentrations: 972, 324, 108, 36 and 12 μ\.

In the first incubation step 50 μΙ of the dilutions of mAb 429/F4 / mAb 423/F10 and 200 μΙ PBS, 0,5 % bovine serum albumin (protease free) were pipetted in tubes, which were coated with peptides P146-164, P146-163, PI 46-1 62, P146-161 , P146-1 59, P146-1 58 and P146-1 57. For calculation of NSB, only 250 μΙ PBS, 0,5 % bovine serum albumin (protease free) were pipetted in tubes, coated with peptides P146-164, P146-163, P146-1 62, P146-1 61 , PI 46-1 59, P146-1 58 and P146-1 57. The tubes were incubated over night at 22 °C under agitation. Then, the tubes were washed 5 times with 1 mL of B.R.A.H.M.S washing solution (B.R.A.H.M.S GmbH, Hen- nigsdorf, Germany). In the second incubation step 200 μΙ of goat-anti-mouse tracer were added and the tubes were incubated for 2 hours at 22 °C under agitation. Then, the tubes were washed 5 times with 1 mL of B.R.A.H.M.S washing solution and bound chemiluminescence was measured for 1 s per tube with an LB 952T luminometer (Berthold).

[0033] In Figs. 1 (A) to 1 (D) the observed binding of the antiserum and antibodies to peptides representing C-terminally full-length and truncated variants of the C-terminal part of Copeptin is shown. Anti-PLAY1 7 sheep antiserum, affinity purified sheep polyclonal anti-PLAY1 7 antibody and mAb 429/F4 exhibited comparable binding to peptides corresponding to amino acid positions 146-164, 146-163, 146-162, 146-161 of prepro-Vasopressin. With peptide variants, which were C-terminally more truncated, binding was reduced. The amount of reduction was dependent on the concentrations of the antibodies applied. For the antisera/anti bodies tested it is concluded that their epitopes do not contain amino acid positions 161 -164 of prepro-Vasopressin. In contrast, binding of mAb 423/F10 was only efficient against a peptide corresponding to amino acid positions 146-164 of prepro-Vasopressin, and was strongly reduced against C-terminally truncated peptide variants. Thus, in the epitope of mAb 423/F10 amino acid position 164 of prepro- Vasopressin is contained. immunoassays

Labeling of monoclonal antibodies

[0034] Labeling was done by standard procedures (EP 1488209 A1 , EP 1 7381 78 A1 ): The concentration of the purified antibodies 429/F4 and 423/F10 was adjusted to 1 g/L, and the antibodies were labeled by incubation with the chemiluminescent label MACN-Acridinium-NHS-Ester (1 g/L; InVent GmbH, Hennigsdorf, Germany) in a 1 :5 molar ratio for 20 min at room temperature. The reactions were stopped by addition of 1/10 volume of 1 mol/L Tris for 10 min at room temperature. Labeled antibodies were separated from free label by size-exclusion chromatography on an NAP-5 column (GE Healthcare, Freiburg, Germany) and a Thermo BioBasic 300 5 μ^ηπ HPLC column (Thermo Scientific).

[0035] Three sandwich immunoassays were utilized or developed as follows:

A. Pc anti-PLAY1 7 / mc anti-PATV1 7

CT-proAVP LIA (B.R.A.H.M.S GmbH, Hennigsdorf, Germany) as described in [7].

B. mAb 429/F4 / mc anti-PATV1 7

Tracer was produced by diluting the labeled antibody 429/F4 into assay buffer (300 mmol/L potassium phosphate, 100 mmol/L NaCI, 10 mmol/L sodium EDTA, 5 g/L protease free bovine serum albumin , 1 g/L nonspecific sheep IgG, 1 g/L nonspecific bovine IgG, 1 g/L nonspecific mouse IgG, 0.9 g/L sodium azide, pH 7.0) containing 106 relative light units (RLU) of MACN-labeled antibody per 200 μ\. 50 μ\ CT pro-AVP standards (B.R.A.H.M.S GmbH, Hennigsdorf, Germany) / samples and 200 μΙ of tracer were pipetted in CT pro-AVP coated tubes (B.R.A.H.M.S GmbH). The tubes were incubated for 2 hours at 22 °C under agitation. Then, the tubes were washed 5 times with 1 mL of washing solution (B.R.A.H.M.S GmbH), and bound chemiluminescence was measured for 1 s per tube with an LB 952T luminometer (Berthold). c. mAb 423/F10 / mc anti-PATVI 7

Tracer was produced by diluting the labeled antibodies 423/F10 into assay buffer (300 mmol/L potassium phosphate, 100 mmol/L NaCI, 10 mmol/L sodium EDTA, 5 g/L protease free bovine serum albumin, 1 g/L nonspecific sheep IgC, 1 g L nonspecific bovine IgC, 1 g/L nonspecific mouse IgC, 0.9 g/L sodium azide, pH 7.0) containing 106 relative light units (RLU) of MACN- labeled antibody per 200 μΙ. 50 μΙ CT pro-AVP standards (B.R.A.H.M.S GmbH, Hennigsdorf, Germany) / samples and 200 μΙ of tracer were pipetted in CT pro-AVP coated tubes (B.R.A.H.M.S GmbH). The tubes were incubated for 2 hours at 22 °C under agitation. Then, the tubes were washed 5 times with 1 mL of washing solution (B.R.A.H.M.S GmbH), and bound chemilumines- cence was measured for 1 s per tube with an LB 952T luminometer (Berthold).

Typical dose response curves for the three assays are shown in Fig. 2.

Method comparison

[0036] With the three assays described above, various clinical samples were measured, including samples from healthy individuals, patients with cardiological diseases and patients from the ICU. Graphical method comparisons are shown in Fig. 3 (sera) and Fig. 4 (EDTA-plasma samples). Ideal Spearman correlation coefficients were observed, when assay pc anti-PLAY1 7 / mc anti-PATV1 7 was compared with assay mAb 429/F4 / mAb PATV1 7, whereas clear differences were observed, when assay mAb 423/F10 / mc anti-PATV1 7 was compared to pc anti-PLAY1 7 / mc anti-PATV1 7 or assay mAb 429/F4 / mc anti-PATV1 7. The differences were more pronounced with sera than with EDTA-plasma samples. The differences observed are clearly associated with the epitopes of the antibodies: The epitope of mAb 423/F10 contains amino acid position 164 of prepro- Vasopressin, whereas the epitopes of pc anti-PLAY1 7 and mAb 429/F4 do not contain amino acid positions 161 -164 of prepro- Vasopressin. Apparently, besides full-length Copeptin there are also C-terminally truncated variants present in both, serum and plasma. As the samples used in the method comparison had been frozen immediately after harvesting and were thawed immediately prior to its measurement, the partial C-terminal truncation apparently had not occurred as a consequence of ex vivo storage, but had occurred already in vivo.

Analyte stability

[0037] A subset of serum samples used in the method comparisons was stored for different periods at 22 °C and then measured with the three assays. By using the mAb 423/F10 / mc anti- PATV1 7 assay, the recovery dropped drastically, already after 1 day storage at 22 °C. The epitope of mAb 423/F10 contains amino acid position 164 of prepro-Vasopressin. In contrast, the analyte appeared much more stable when either the pc anti-PLAY1 7 / mc anti-PATV1 7 or mAb 429/F4 / mc anti-PATV1 7 assay was used. The epitopes of pc anti-PLAY1 7 and mAb 429/F4 do not contain amino acid positions 161 -1 64 of prepro-Vasopressin.

[0038] SEQUENCES

SEQ ID NO. 1 (prepro-Vasopressin)

1 0 20 30 40 50 60

MPDTMLPACF LCLLAFSSAC YFQNCPRGCK RAMSDLELRQ CLPCGPGGKG RCFCPSICCA

70 80 90 100 1 10 1 20

DELCCFVGTA EALRCQEENY LPSPCQSGQK ACGSGGRCAA FGVCCNDESC VTEPECRECF

1 30 1 40 1 50 160

HRRARASDRS NATQLDGPAG ALLLRLVQLA GAPEPFEPAQ PDAY

SEQ ID NO. 2 (Copeptin)

ASDRSNATQLDGPACALLLRLVQLAGAPEPFEPAQPDAY

(representing amino acid positions 126-164 of prepro-Vasopressin)

SEQ ID NO. 3 (Peptide PAY14 )

CAPEPFEPAQPDAY

(representing amino acid positions 1 52-164 of prepro-Vasopressin plus an N-terminal cysteine)

SEQ ID NO. 4 (Peptide PAY16 )

C AG A PE P F E PAQ P DAY

(representing amino acid positions 1 50-164 of prepro-Vasopressin plus an N-terminal cysteine)

SEQ ID NO. 5 (Peptide PAY33 )

ATQLDGPAGALLLRLVQLAGAPEPFEPAQPDAY

(representing amino acid positions 1 32-164 of prepro-Vasopressin)

SEQ ID NO. 6 (Peptide P146-164)

LVQLAGAPEPFEPAQP DAY

(representing amino acid positions 146-164 of prepro-Vasopressin) SEQ ID NO. 7 (Peptide P146-163)

LVQLACAPEPFEPAQPDA

(representing amino acid positions 146-163 of prepro-Vasopressin)

SEQ ID NO. 8 (Peptide PI 46-162)

LVQLACAPEPFEPAQPD

(representing amino acid positions 146-162 of prepro-Vasopressin)

SEQ ID NO. 9 (Peptide P146-161 )

LVQLAGAPEPFEPAQP

(representing amino acid positions 146-161 of prepro-Vasopressin)

SEQ ID NO. 10 (Peptide P146-160)

LVQLACAPEPFEPAQ

(representing amino acid positions 146-160 of prepro-Vasopressin)

SEQ ID NO. 11 (Peptide P146-159)

LVQLAGAPEPFEPA

(representing amino acid positions 146-1 59 of prepro-Vasopressin)

SEQ ID NO. 12 (Peptide P146-158)

LVQLACAPEPFEP

(representing amino acid positions 146-158 of prepro-Vasopressin)

SEQ ID NO. 13 (Peptide P146-157)

LVQLACAPEPFE

(representing amino acid positions 146-157of prepro-Vasopressin)

[0039] LITERATURE

1 . Kluge M, Riedl S, Erhart-Hofmann B, Hartmann J, Waldhauser F. Improved extraction procedure and RIA for determination of arginine-8-vasopressin in plasma: role of premeas-urement sample treatment and reference values in children. Clin Chem 1999;45:98-103.

2. Preibisz JJ, Sealey JE, Laragh JH, Cody RJ, Weksler BB. Plasma and platelet vasopressin in essential hypertension and congestive heart failure. Hypertension 1983;5:11 29-38.

3. Robertson CL, Mahr EA, Athar S, Sinha T. Development and clinical application of a new method for the radioimmunoassay of arginine vasopressin in human plasma. J Clin Invest 1973;52:2340-52.

4. Morgenthaler NC, Struck J, Alonso C, Bergmann A. Assay for the measurement of co-peptin, a stable peptide derived from the precursor of vasopressin. Clin Chem 2006;52:1 1 2-9.

5. Morgenthaler NC, Struck J, Jochberger S, Dunser MW. Copeptin: clinical use of a new bio- marker. Trends Endocrinol Metab 2008;19:43-9.

6. Struck J, Morgenthaler NG, Bergmann A. Copeptin, a stable peptide derived from the vasopressin precursor, is elevated in serum of sepsis patients. Peptides 2005;26:2500-4.

7. Fenske W, Stork S, Blechschmidt A, Maier SG, Morgenthaler NG, Allolio B. Copeptin in the differential diagnosis of hyponatremia. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2009;94: 123-9.

Claims

1 . Method of obtaining and/or verifying a binder to prepro-Vasopressin (SEQ ID NO. 1 ) or fragments thereof of at least 6 amino acids in length, including Copeptin (SEQ ID NO. 2), comprising at least one of the steps of:

a) generating the binder using a developer comprising an amino acid sequence of at least 6 amino acids in length contained in an amino acid sequence corresponding to the C- terminal part but lacking amino acid 1 64 of prepro-Vasopressin (SEQ ID NO. 1 );

b) determining whether the binder is capable of binding to an amino acid sequence of at least 4 amino acids in length contained in an amino acid sequence corresponding to the C-terminal part but lacking amino acid 164 of prepro-Vasopressin (SEQ ID NO. 1 );

c) selecting and optionally isolating the binder from a plurality of binders which is capable of binding to an amino acid sequence contained in an amino acid sequence corresponding to the C-terminal part but lacking amino acid 164 of prepro-Vasopressin (SEQ ID NO. 1 ); d) carrying out binding assays with the binder in order to determine the ex vivo stability of prepro-Vasopressin or fragments thereof of at least 6 amino acids in length, including Copeptin, in a biological sample;

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein amino acids 163-164, preferably amino acids 162-164 and most preferably amino acids 161 -164 are lacking from the amino acid sequence corresponding to the C-terminal part of prepro-Vasopressin (SEQ ID NO. 1 ).

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the amino acid sequence corresponding to the C- terminal part of prepro-Vasopressin (SEQ ID NO. 1 ) corresponds to amino acids 140 to 163, preferably 142 to 163, especially preferably 144 to 163 and most preferably 146 to 163 of prepro-Vasopressin (SEQ ID NO. 1 ).

4. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the amino acid sequence comprised in the developer and/or the amino acid sequence contained in the amino acid sequence corresponding to the C-terminal part of prepro-Vasopressin (SEQ ID NO. 1 ) contains at least 8, preferably at least 10 and most preferably at least 12 consecutive amino acids contained in the amino acid sequence corresponding to amino acids 146 to 163 of prepro-Vasopressin (SEQ ID NO. 1 ) and is preferably selected from the group comprising the peptides consisting of amino acids 146-163 (SEQ ID NO. 7), 146-162 (SEQ ID NO. 8), 146-161 (SEQ ID NO. 9), 146-160 (SEQ ID NO. 1 0), 146-1 59 (SEQ ID NO. 1 1 ), 146-1 58 (SEQ ID NO. 12) and 146- 1 57 (SEQ ID NO. 1 3) of prepro-Vasopressin (SEQ ID NO. 1 ).

5. The method of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the binder is capable of binding to an amino acid sequence of at least 6, preferably at least 8, more preferably at least 10 and most preferably at least 12 consecutive amino acids contained in the amino acid sequence corresponding to amino acids 146 to 163 of prepro-Vasopressin (SEQ ID NO. 1 ), preferably an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of amino acids 146-163 (SEQ ID NO. 7), 146-162 (SEQ ID NO. 8), 146-161 (SEQ ID NO. 9), 146-160 (SEQ ID NO. 10), 146- 1 59 (SEQ ID NO. 1 1 ), 146-1 58 (SEQ ID NO. 12) and 146-1 57 (SEQ ID NO. 1 3) of prepro- Vasopressin (SEQ ID NO. 1 ).

6. The method of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the determining step b) comprises epitope mapping.

7. The method of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the specificity of binding of the binder to the said epitope is determined, particularly, in steps d) and/or e), by comparison with the epitope specificity of another binder for comparison purposes, preferably a binder known not to require the said amino acid 1 64 of prepro-Vasopressin (SEQ ID NO.1 ) for binding to the said epitope.

8. The method of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the selecting step comprises affinity separation.

9. The method of any one of claims 1 to 8, comprising

- step a) but not steps b), c), d) and e), or

- step b) but not steps a), c), d) and e),or

- step c) but not steps a), b), d) and e), or

- step d) but not steps a), b), c) and e), or

- step e) but not steps a), b), c) and d), or

- steps b) and c) but not steps a), d) and e).

10. Peptide, consisting of or containing, in addition to a linking part, as a functional part at least 6, preferably at least 8, more preferably at least 10 and most preferably at least 12 consecutive amino acids contained in the amino acid sequence corresponding to amino acids 146 to 1 63 of prepro-Vasopressin (SEQ ID NO. 1 ), preferably peptide selected from the group comprising the peptides consisting of amino acids 146-163 (SEQ ID NO. 7), 146-162 (SEQ ID NO. 8), 146-161 (SEQ ID NO. 9), 146-160 (SEQ ID NO. 10), 146-1 59 (SEQ ID NO. 1 1 ), 146-1 58 (SEQ ID NO. 12) and 146-1 57 (SEQ ID NO. 1 3) of prepro-Vasopressin (SEQ ID NO. 1 ).

1 1 . Use of the peptide of claim 10 as a developer in the method of any one of claims 1 to 9.

12. Binder, obtainable by the method of any one of claims 1 to 9 or the use of claim 1 1 .

13. Binder according to claim 1 2, namely antibody, preferably monoclonal antibody, polyclonal antiserum, enriched or purified polyclonal antibody, recombinant antibody, or a functional derivative thereof.

14. Use of the binder of claim 12 or 1 3 for qualitatively or quantitatively detecting prepro- Vasopressin or fragments thereof, including Copeptin, in a biological sample.

15. The use of claim 14, wherein the biological sample is a bodily fluid selected from the group comprising blood, serum, plasma, urine, cerebrospinal fluid and saliva.

16. The use of claim 14 or 1 5, wherein at least one additional binder is utilized which is capable of binding to an epitope fully or partially contained in an amino acid sequence corresponding to amino acids 1 26 to 164 of prepro- Vasopressin (SEQ ID NO. 1 ).

1 7. The use of claim 16, wherein the at least one additional binder is an antibody, preferably monoclonal antibody, polyclonal antiserum, enriched or purified polyclonal antibody, recombinant antibody, or a functional derivative thereof.

18. Kit for qualitatively or quantitatively detecting prepro- Vasopressin or fragments thereof, including Copeptin, in a biological sample, comprising the binder of claim 12 or 1 3.